Savor Hard-to-Find Fresh Soba and More At Leichi

House-made soba served chilled with warm duck broth at Leichi.
House-made soba served chilled with warm duck broth at Leichi.

After reading a San Francisco Chronicle food story recently, in which reporter Elena Kadvany lamented that there were only three Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area that offered fresh-made soba, my interest was piqued, especially when chilled fresh noodles would hit the spot like nothing else during our recent, week-long heatwave.

Sobakatsu in San Francisco is the latest place to offer the buckwheat noodles, joining Soba Ichi in Oakland and Leichi in Santa Clara.

With only a few tables plus compact counter seating, it pays to reserve ahead of time at Leichi.
With only a few tables plus compact counter seating, it pays to reserve ahead of time at Leichi.

The latter is where I headed, located in a nondescript strip mall. Leichi is a small, mom-and-pop Japanese restaurant that puts such unexpected care into everything it does, including simple yet well thought out presentations coupled with the motivation to make so many items in-house.

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Pumpkin Plus Nutella For Double the Goodness

It's the great pumpkin Nutella bread, Charlie Brown.
It’s the great pumpkin Nutella bread, Charlie Brown.

October heralds everything pumpkin, of course.

Add in rich, creamy Nutella, and you have a combo that can’t miss.

That’s what this gorgeous, moist “Pumpkin Nutella Bread” is all about.

The recipe is from the new “Dolci!” (Alfred A. Knopf), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Renato Poliafito, founder of Ciao, Gloria bakery and cafe in Brooklyn, and former co-owner of Baked in Brooklyn; with assistance from with Casey Elsass, food writer and cookbook author.

It’s a collection of treats that take influence from his Italian, American, and Italian-American heritages in everything from “American Cinnamon Rolls,” “Sicilian Sticky Buns,” and “Triple-Chocolate Biscotti” to “Honey-Ricotta Black and Whites,” “Limoncello Pistachio Tart,” and “Cannoli Cake.”

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The Fine-Dining Anomaly

This is how they do shrimp and grits at Anomaly.
This is how they do shrimp and grits at Anomaly.

When Mike Lanham was a young cook, he’d dress up in his one set of nice clothes and use his meager savings to dine at a two- or three-starred Michelin restaurant. Admittedly, as early as 2 hours beforehand, he’d find himself getting nervous, anxious that he’d fit in properly or commit a dining faux pas.

So, when it was time to open his own restaurant, he knew he didn’t want his diners to feel the same jitters.

“Fine-dining should be fun,” he explains, “and well thought out.’ But certainly not intimidating.

His aptly named Anomaly aims to deviate from the expected stiff formality one sometimes associates with highfalutin dining.

The tasting menu-only restaurant started out as a pop-up before opening its own brick-and-mortar in San Francisco’s lower Pacific Heights neighborhood. Last week, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant, which received recognition from the 2024 California Michelin Guide.

Executive Chef Mike Lanham in the open kitchen.
Executive Chef Mike Lanham (right) in the open kitchen.

The restaurant has two dining rooms, the front one right behind a lounge-space where diners can enjoy glasses of sparkling wine before they are escorted to their tables; and a second main dining room that affords a bird’s eye view of the open kitchen.

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Mushroom Udon with Honey? You Bet!

Mushrooms, udon, and honey? Say what?
Mushrooms, udon, and honey? Say what?

Admittedly, when I first laid eyes on this recipe for “Honey-Glazed Mushrooms with Udon,” I was initially a little skeptical.

Mushrooms with honey? Really?

But James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Hetty Lui McKinnon has never steered me wrong in any of her other recipes that I’ve made.

Ditto for this one. Not only was this recipe quick and effortless, but it showed me just how honey could further deepen the caramelized taste of sauteed mushrooms.

First published in the New York Times, this recipe calls for boiling frozen or fresh udon noodles, then rinsing well to remove excess starch.

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